Chapter 1.
It was a Tuesday morning, and I was not in a good mood. I didn’t have any particular reason or excuse for my poor attitude, it just seemed like one of those days.
If anything I should’ve been in the best of moods- my friend had brought me a macchiato this morning just because she felt like it, my professor had expressed interest in taking me on as a graduate student following my graduation, and the harsh winter had faded into a cool spring seemingly overnight. Despite the sun shining high in the sky, it seemed as though my own personal storm cloud had found its way overhead.
As my friend walked over to the table I had claimed in the middle of the canteen, I forced a smile onto my face. I opened my mouth to say hello but was quickly cut off as she flung her bag and coat onto one of the empty chairs and immediately sat down in front of me, her big, brown eyes sparkling behind her glasses.
“Did you see Jacob this morning?” She asked excitedly.
“I’m good Safa, thanks for asking. How are you?” I rolled my eyes jokingly, and she sent me a playful glare in return.
“Who cares if I’m good or not, answer the question.”
I thought back to this morning, flipping through a mental slideshow wondering if I had seen anything of note, but came up dry. I shook my head in response.
“Samantha, Jacob cut his hair and beard, and he looks hot as hell.” She briefly closed her eyes, “He looked a bit... shaggy before but now he looks like a complete snack.”
I was immediately curious, thinking of where I could find him on-campus before he went home. Jacob had always had thick, dark brown hair that went to his waist and a beard to match. He had these beautiful, greyish-blue eyes but overall I would’ve never referred to him as attractive. Safa was even more into the neat, clean-shaven look, so hearing her describe Jacob as hot as hell was even more bizarre.
“Do you know if Jacob is in our statistics section today?” It was my only other class on Tuesdays, and I was hoping that I’d be able to catch him in it as I knew we didn’t have any classes in common tomorrow.
“Yes he is! He sits in the back. You’re gonna love his new look. I swear if I wasn’t engaged I might’ve considered hitting him up.” Safa snorted while playing with the ring on her finger. She loved joking about other men with me, but at the end of the day, her heart still belonged to her lover halfway across the globe.
I spared a glance to my phone, a little less than an hour remained before I’d be able to lay my eyes on the new and improved Jacob Larsen.
As Safa and I turned the corner, my ears were blessed with the sound of Jacob laughing. He had one of the deepest voices I had ever heard, smooth and heavy like molasses. Jacob was a man of few words, but every time he spoke, he drew attention from anyone around him.
Even though we could hear him, he was hidden from my view. One of the other people in our program, Todd, stood in front of him. Todd was a big guy, a little over two metres tall, and almost as wide. He also wasn’t a big talker, but he made up for his lack of words with a constant grin on his face.
As we got closer, Todd looked back and smiled at Safa and me, and sent us a quick wave. He looked back at Jacob, before stepping out of the way.
The man in front of me didn’t look like the Jacob Larsen that I’ve been studying with for the past three years. The clothes he wore were the same; his backpack was the same; his ratty tennis shoes were the same. Everything else though? It was like I was staring at a whole new person.
His hair that only yesterday seemed to go on for miles was cut to mere centimetres above his collarbones. The long beard was reduced down to basic stubble. I had never seen his jawline before, it was sharper than I expected.
His eyes, however, were just as piercing as before. We made direct eye contact and it felt as though everyone around me was stuck in time. I could hear Todd and Safa talking in the background, but I couldn’t make out any words. It was as though I was underwater, and his eyes kept me from drowning.
Suddenly, I was pulled back to reality when Safa nudged me with her elbow. They were all looking at me expectantly like they were waiting for my answer.
I shook my head, “Sorry guys, I zoned out for a second, what’s up?”
Safa tilted her head in confusion but repeated what I assumed was her question. “We were wondering what you thought of Jacob’s new look?”
I looked back at Jacob, “Looks good Larsen, what’s with the new ’do?”
“I was bored,” He shrugged, “I haven’t cut my hair in years, figured a Monday night would be as good a time as any.”
“Well it looks wonderful, I’m sure you’ll have a gaggle of girls at your beck and call,” Safa snorted, “Get it, a gaggle, like a goose." There were more than enough geese living on our campus, to the point that our university was sometimes referred to as the University of Geese.
Jacob chuckled and shook his head. “The last thing I need is more fans, Todd over here is more than enough.”
Todd turned bright red and was starting to respond when the door to our classroom opened and the professor allowed us in. I sat down next to Safa in our usual seat in the front. After pulling my notebook out of my bag, I turned to put my bag on the chair behind me, only to lock eyes with Jacob for the second time today.
I was underwater again, the only thing I saw was him. The corner of his mouth lifted ever so slightly, and his head tilted to the side. I held his gaze for a few seconds longer before shaking my head and diverting my attention to the chalkboard in front of me.
This focusing issue needed to stop, I made a mental note to meditate longer tonight and get some more sleep. This wasn’t like me at all.
Hey everyone! Thanks for reading the first chapter of Left Swipes Only! I ’m hoping to get another chapter out shortly (hopefully no longer than a few days depending on how my homework goes). Let me know what you think in the comments!
